Rollers select team for 2017 IWBF AOZ Qualifiers

The Australian Rollers team has been named ahead of the IWBF Asia Oceania Qualification (AOZ) tournament to be held in Beijing, China from October 20-28.

14 nations will compete for qualification through to the 2018 IWBF World Championship in Hamburg, Germany in August 2018 but only four teams will advance.

Host nation China are expected to put up a strong fight on home soil while long-term AOZ rivals Japan, Korea and Iran will also provide strong opposition for the Rollers.

Australian head coach Craig Friday has been focussed on developing flexibility with new line-ups as well as focussing on the fitness, speed and agility of the entire squad with these attributes paramount to their style of play.

“We have made one change from the team we took to Japan for the Mitsubishi World Challenge with Shawn Russell replacing Josh Allison,” said Friday.

“This tournament is another great opportunity for our mid-point line-up in Shaun Norris, Tom O’Neill-Thorne and Kim Robins to get valuable time together and be further exposed at the international level.

“Luke Pople (2.5) and Matt McShane (1.5) provide solid support and a different mid-point combination look as well.”

The Rollers have a proud history at the AOZ qualifiers and will be keen to retain their mantle as the number one team to come out of the region.

“The four-point position is a strength of ours and we will look to use them in a few different combinations with Tristan Knowles, Brett Stibners, Bill Latham, Michael Auprince and Russell all having different assets we can use,” said Friday.

“We are carrying two one-pointers in Jannik Blair and Sam White who will need to be sharp and switched on as they will get to play with most combinations we have on the floor.”

The Rollers have their final preparation camp in Canberra at Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence from October 16-20 before heading to Beijing with their first game on October 23.

The Australian Rollers team for the 2017 AOZ Qualifiers:

Player

NWBL Club

Class

Shawn Russell

Kilsyth Cobras

4.0

Bill Latham

Brisbane Spinning Bullets

4.0

Samuel White

Red Dust Heelers

1.0

Shaun Norris

Perth Wheelcats

3.0

Kim Robins

Perth Wheelcats

3.0

Tristan Knowles

Kilsyth Cobras

4.0

Jannik Blair

Red Dust Heelers

1.0

Tom O’Neill-Thorne

Brisbane Spinning Bullets

3.0

Matt McShane

Brisbane Spinning Bullets

1.5

Luke Pople

Wollongong Rollerhawks

2.5

Brett Stibners

Wollongong Rollerhawks

4.0

Michael Auprince

Wollongong Rollerhawks

4.0

Staff:

Craig Friday

Head Coach

Brad Ness

Assistant Coach

Shane Furness

Assistant/Technical Coach

Grant Mizens

Specialist Coach

Jesse Adams

Physiotherapist

Pablo Jimenez

Team Manager

Peta Forsyth

Physiologist

The Australian Rollers Schedule for the 2017 IWBF AOZ Qualifiers (all times AEST):

October 23: Rollers v Iraq at 6pm October 24: Rollers v Chinese Taipei at 4.15pm October 26: Quarter-finals October 27: Semi-finals October 28: Bronze and Gold Medal Games